PERMANTAR-2. A new project for monitoring permafrost in the Antarctic Peninsula region.

VIEIRA G., C. MORA, M. NEVES, M. OLIVA, V. BATISTA, A. FERREIRA, M. JORGE, M.J. ROCHA, A. TRINDADE, A. CORREIA, J-M. MAILLOL, P. AMARAL,F. SANTOS, I. BERNARDO, A. SOARES, M. RAMOS, M.A. DE PABLO, J. BOCKHEIM,A. CASELLI, G. GOYANES,

Longyearbyen - Svalbard

Conferencia; 3rd European Conference on Permafrost; 2010

Comm Europ

Permafrost influence on climate has been largely neglected in the past, but research in the last decade emphasizes on its major significance as a component of the cryosphere. In the recent climate change assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Arctic Climate Impact Assessment and United Nations Environment Program, reference to present-day and future responses of permafrost terrain to climate have already been included. There is a widespread trend towards warming of permafrost on Earth, with significant influences on the climate system (carbon fluxes), terrain stability, ecology and hydrology. Permafrost research as a long tradition in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the circum-Arctic region and there are hundreds of boreholes and active layer monitoring sites focusing on the evolution of the thermal state of permafrost. However, Antarctic permafrost is still poorly characterized and the borehole and active layer monitoring network is scarce. The International Permafrost Association (IPA) maintains the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P), as well as the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring Network (CALM). During the International Polar Year, the IPA conducted a significant effort in developing the permafrost and active layer monitoring networks in the Antarctic and coordinated two IPY core projects: The Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP) and Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Permafrost, Soils and Periglacial Environments (ANTPAS). Portugal participated in these projects with PERMANTAR - Permafrost and climate change in the Maritime Antarctic, funded by the FCT. Current activities are framed within the new project PERMANTAR-2. A major objective of PERMANTAR-2 is to bridge the gap in monitoring through installing and upgrading permafrost boreholes and CALM-S sites in the Antarctic Peninsula region, with a focus in the South Shetlands. Together with this objective, improving knowledge on permafrost distribution and characteristics, with a modeling component, and also the implementation of sites for monitoring the periglacial geomorphodynamics in relation to climate change are important goals. PERMANTAR-2 also includes a task on snow cover monitoring using field data, as well as ASAR satellite imagery. Following the IPA guidelines for the implementation of a permafrost monitoring transect along the Antarctic Peninsula, a new site will be tentatively implemented in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Anvers or Brabant islands constituting an important node in the GTN-P. PERMANTAR-2 will takes place from 2010 to 2012 and is organized according to the following tasks: Task 1 – Permafrost, active layer and geomorphodynamics monitoring; Task 2 – SAR analysis of the snow cover; Task 3 – Permafrost modelling